The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-02-26
SOD0M DESTROYED.
NOTES ON INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY
SCHOOL LESSON.

Jehovah were soon at the gate Of S"iom. In
this place Of public traffic, of justice and of
gossip they found Lot. The Angel of Jeho-
van, who had visited his servant Abraham,
does not now honor Lot with his presence or
run the risk of being subjected 10 shameful
lndil,nities. Lo', true 10 the customs II the
Orient, when regard the rites of hospitality
| aS most snCrtl, in wh"re defense the host
shouh put his life and his honor In peru II
need BE-, induces the angels, whom he prob
ably does not recognize ~ such until later, 10
h. his guests,
The men II SSlom soon give evidence Of
their abominable vices They are therefore
smitten with blindness but Notwithstanding
they do no, dc>ist from their attempt TO enter
Lots house, although Ia no purpose.
The shamclcSness Of these men and the
Judgment visited on them arr the prelude 10
the terrible tragedy which Is ~ soon 10 fol
low, and which the angels announce Ia Lot.
They ask him what relatives he has and bid
HIM bring them out of the place. II appears
from th. narrative that there were two young
men in Solom who were betro'h'Il to ms
daughter, lGcn. XIX, II, Revised Version Lot
bids them leave the place, For the Lord viii
destroy the city," hut thi, announcement was
probably received with dcriNiyc laughter, MS
he seemed to them 10 IL only r'Sting. With
GU. concern tue young mon lay down TO
sleep and awokc only Ia find Nh" words Of
warning too true, and no opportunity for cs-
cale.
TIM LESSON.
The Impending Ruin rvs, Il. l6.-llow Lot
| passed the night the narrative does not say.
| There i no account OF its being spent IN
prayer, as night was spent at "A crisis IN
| Jacobs history. He was faced with III" grim
certainty that he was about 10 luse ms home
and his earthly ALL With the earliest light
OF morning the angels fastened Lot, bidding
| him take his wife and his two daughters and
BECOME lest notwithstanding the warning
that they had come 10 give he should la de-
| stroyed in the inlquity Of the place and It's at
| teniant punishment which was now 10 he
visited But be fingered a. if on enchanted
| ground He could not bear 20 leave his home
and his possessions He probably desired tn
take some Of his wealth with him, end was
undecided what TO do But while he fingered,
| in Gods mercy the men took him, his wife
and his two daughters 10y the hand, and, rs Il
were, tore them away from the city, and
brought them outside.
| V. IT, The angels, however, knew that not
uithstanding all their warnings there was
| danger that Lot might delay, even If he did
| not return to bring some of the coveted pos
| SESSIONS with him. We should eyrert 10 read
| that the two angels commanded him, hut in
| stead We read that he who must have been
| the Angel of jehovah, who had come unan-
nounce,l, said, Escape for thy fit'; look not
behind thee, neither stay in oil the plain;
escaIe 20 the mountain, lest thou be con
sumed."
The plain mentione, here is more literally
| translated III the mar.in of the Revised Yer
SION Of Gen. xiii, T., TIE "circle.' II Indicates
what might lie called the meadow or bottom
lands of the Jordan near the Dead sea, where
the valley is about ten miles wide. We do
not know definitely what mountain is indi.
Gated, for we do not know the original site >,
the cities Of the plain.
| Lott. PRAYER Tvs ls-2m. Lot now
thoroughly alarmed, prays for more favo'
able terms He addresses the Angel OF Jeho'
yab. gratefully acknowledging the favor
which he has found, and that the Lord has
maynifel his mercy in saving his life, and
asks tbnt since Jehovah has done such great
things for him he should do him the lesser
favor OF allowing him 10 flee TO the little city
near bv. This petition be urges with passion
| ate earnc>tnes~.
Cs 81. 22-J,hovuh graconsly accepts
him. Willie Abraham's prayer is not to
anvil for the salvation Of Sodom, Lots avails
for the preservation of Zoar, the little city
God viii not do anything for the destruc-
tion of the cities until Lot reaches Ioar. This
WINS entirely in answer to Abraham int"rces-
sion. as il would seem Gen. xix, 2N When
once God had given his assurance to his ser
I ruF, nlt ,rh 10
answer comes in an entirely different form
from what Abraham had expected.
Lot reaches Zoar at sunrise. A. he left
Sodom at the first gray Of the morning, he
had gone perhaps four or tive miles.
The Destruction Tvs. %, 20 The sun burst
in its usual splcndor on the cities of the plain.
The night had doubtless been passed i'll we'd
ding festivities andtsavety 10y some, and in
| h,st and debauchery by others, Many OF the
| people rose early 90 pursue their wonted call
ings. but the cool breath Of morning was rs
il were in moment turned into the sitting
| heat of furnace, with which the fumes OF
sulphur were mingled. Tn" Scripture does
| not dwell on the scene. II a~cribes the de-
struction to Jehovah Whether this was oc-
casioned ny the play of electricity on some
Of the bituminous deposits, and on sulphur
| springs, when are FOUND III the llclsnuuDOol,
we 10 not know. Gods hand is equally
divine, whether seen IN the orderly course of
nature or in seemingly miraculous interfcr-
,nce in that course. No law of force is more
! powerful than that almighty hand, and any
theory of reign OF law which bars God
out from his own universe does not satisfy
the conditions which we find in the Bible.
Sodom, Gomorrah and, as we learn from
another passage tDeut. xxx, 2;N Admah and
Zeboim, were destroyed in this overthrow
| The Site Of the Cities 1t is still a subject
of much controversy where these cities were
situated. II was the popular belief as it still
| is, among many that they occupied the site
| OF the Dead sea But there is no scriptural
authority for this view, and geological re-
searches have shown that it is impossible, and
that the peculiar depression of the Dead sea,
which Is the lowest known natural depression
below the earth's surface Il 800 feet below the
| lcvel of the Mediterranean, existed for ages
| before the overthrow of these cities. The
| prevalent view since this discovery, which Is
favored by certain traditional landmarks, has
| been that the cities were situated Just at the
| south of the Dead sea The view which now
seems to be most popular among scholars is
| that they were little 10 the north of ii. DIR.